In all-caps, ’cause I’m super-excited – and not just because this is my fifth year participating! This time around, I actually have an honest-to-goodness theme.

I’ve wanted to do a theme for years, but so far the closest I’ve come is mini-themes, such as the “frugal vegans” series. I always put off the planning until it’s too late to write 20+ like posts – but this year I started early. As in late August early. Literally the afternoon I found out that Isa & Co. had announced the dates. (Which turned out to be a few weeks after the fact, but still. August!) By the time September rolled around, I already had my entire menu planned out. Success!

What it lacks in originality, my theme more than makes up for in FUN! Each day I’ll feature a song (including some of my faves) paired up with a meal or dessert inspired by the music. Some of the connections are immediately obvious, going no deeper than the song and recipe titles – while others will be less apparent and personally meaningful. The title of the series? “Eat to the Beat. (Shamelessly lifted from a Blondie song of the same name, because it was far superior than anything I could come up with, e.g., “Munch to the Music,” “Nom Nom Revolution,” “Rocktoberfest,” and “Sex, Sugar & Rock ‘n Roll,” to name a few.)

Along with sticking to the theme, my goals for this Vegan MoFo are two-fold: 1) trying out all-new (to me) recipes and 2) cracking open a few of the many vegan cookbooks I’ve accumulated (but rarely use) over the years.

I know it’s only day one, but so far I’m loving the theme thing. I thought it’d be difficult, but having something to focus on makes it much easier to come up with ideas. Usually I find myself floundering, but I have enough to keep me busy through November!